Bone-Attached Disaster - Chapter 29:

Chapter 29: Staying

Fu Jia’an waited for a while, but Lu Jie didn’t reply after that. Lying in bed, he thought it was perhaps time to let Lu Jie off the hook.

If his presence made Lu Jie unhappy and dampened his spirit, then they were fundamentally not suited to be around each other. Fu Jia’an had experienced this many times. People he once thought would become friends eventually turned into enemies.

Tormenting others was not Fu Jia’an’s intention, but once he was interested in someone, he couldn’t resist playing around with them. Yet, what he considered a “game” might be perceived as harm by others.

Fu Jia’an struggled to empathize with the feeling of losing, but he had never seen Lu Jie look so dejected, head bowed and silent, as if something was pressing heavily on his back. In that moment, Fu Jia’an genuinely regretted it.

After the weekend, Lu Jie seemed to have recovered some of his spirit, showing no difference from usual, still running off to chat and laugh with Jiang Yan and Peng Yuan during breaks. However, the question Fu Jia’an had asked him that day remained unresolved.

Fu Jia’an felt this meant Lu Jie wanted him to leave. Lu Jie hadn’t said it directly, but he understood the implication.

Perhaps sensing that his time here would become increasingly limited, Fu Jia’an had started applying last month to stay until 8 PM every night. Unlike the other students, he didn’t need to go out for dinner between 6 and 7 PM; he ate at home in the evening. Thus, after the last class of the afternoon, Fu Jia’an was alone in the classroom, sleeping or doing practice problems.

The sky got dark very early, and the snow continued to fall. Because of the low temperature, windows were rarely opened during the day. The snowfall was not as heavy as the previous two days; occasionally, a few snowflakes would land on the windowsill, thin and perfect like a layer of icing.

Fu Jia’an watched the snow for a moment and suddenly heard movement beside him. Lu Jie, who should have gone to dinner, had returned. His heart tightened, and he quickly turned his head.

Unexpectedly, the person sitting in Lu Jie’s seat was Tang Ningxue.

“Senior, long time no see.” She smiled and greeted Fu Jia’an, resting her chin in her hands, her eyes gliding over the tiny snowflakes like a crystal ball.

“Oh,” Fu Jia’an felt a little disappointed internally but responded cordially. “Looking for Lu Jie?” It hasn’t been a long time, he thought. Didn’t you come to borrow a book from Lu Jie last week?

“Mmm, Senior Lu Jie said he needed to see me, so I came over,” Tang Ningxue said. “And I’m also returning the book I borrowed earlier.”

Just then, the lights in the classroom flickered twice and went out. Everything visible plunged into darkness.

A commotion arose outside the corridor, followed by the school broadcast. A teacher announced a school-wide power outage that might last about an hour, advising everyone not to panic and to return to their classrooms in groups after dinner.

In the darkness, Tang Ningxue’s face was invisible, but judging by her voice, she was very composed and didn’t seem particularly affected by the power outage. She said, “Senior, can I just call you by your name from now on?”

“Whatever,” Fu Jia’an said. “It doesn’t matter. I’m younger than you, so call me whatever you want. I’m a bit sleepy, so I’m going to nap.”

With that, Fu Jia’an laid his head down. He wasn’t actually sleepy, but he wasn’t in the mood for small talk.

Why did Lu Jie specifically ask to see Tang Ningxue? Are they that close now, meeting every few days? Besides being under my nose, do they have a lot of private contact? Do they chat often? Do they go out together on weekends? At least not on weekends, right? Otherwise, Tang Ningxue would have returned the book to him earlier.

Before long, the classroom became more crowded, and the sound of people talking became mixed. With the power out, they couldn’t work on practice problems or blatantly use their phones. Several students had already gathered to tell ghost stories, but the lively atmosphere completely negated any chilling effect.

“Didn’t I say I’d come over to your classroom to find you?” It was Lu Jie returning.

Tang Ningxue said, “I had nothing else to do, so I just came here.”

“Why are you wearing so little? It’s very cold outside.”

Perhaps because he couldn’t see Lu Jie’s face, hearing only his voice, it sounded so gentle. Fu Jia’an recalled that Lu Jie had never spoken to him in that tone before.

“I was in a bit of a rush when I left, but the classroom is warm enough. It’s fine.”

Fu Jia’an couldn’t lie still anymore. He sat up, his eyes now adapted to the darkness, just catching the silhouettes of the two people nearby. Lu Jie patted Tang Ningxue’s shoulder, sounding very familiar. “Alright, sit here for a bit. It’s dark outside. I’ll walk you back to your classroom later.”

“Mmm, okay.”

Fu Jia’an lowered his head and squeezed the metal zipper of his school uniform. He started to think that since he was about to leave anyway, he might as well just completely cut ties with Lu Jie.

In his sixteen years, he had never known what revenge was, nor did he feel any possessiveness. He always thought he lacked both traits.

But now, he didn’t want to talk to Lu Jie anymore. He had never broken off contact with anyone; it was always others who left him first. This time, he was going to walk away first without looking back. Because the feeling of being abandoned lasts a lifetime, and Fu Jia’an had been abandoned before, so he knew it best.

Just as he was absorbed in his thoughts, Fu Jia’an’s wrist was suddenly grabbed. He heard Lu Jie say, “Fu Jia’an, come out with me for a moment.”

His tone was not as gentle as it had been when talking to Tang Ningxue, but the huge balloon of gray emotions that had inflated earlier was easily popped just like that.

Fu Jia’an stood up and followed Lu Jie out. He stumbled as he passed behind the last row of desks and chairs, but he didn’t dare stop, because if he couldn’t keep up, Lu Jie might let go of his hand.

All the way, Fu Jia’an kept looking at Lu Jie’s back. Finally, they stopped in front of a wooden bench. This was a rare, secluded spot at the school, with a small pine grove behind it and the main academic building to the side.

Because of the moonlight, it was actually a little brighter outside than inside.

“Sit down,” Lu Jie let Fu Jia’an sit first and tossed a jacket over him. Only then did Fu Jia’an realize that Lu Jie had also grabbed his down jacket, which was draped over the back of the chair, on his way out of the classroom.

Fu Jia’an didn’t put it on, simply draping the coat over himself. Holding the jacket like this gave him a sense of security. He looked at Lu Jie, who sat down beside him, waiting for what he had to say.

Lu Jie wasn’t wearing his down jacket, and his hands were a bit cold. He tucked both hands into his pockets, turning to ask Fu Jia’an, “Which universities have sent you invitations?”

Fu Jia’an extended his hand and counted on his fingers: Q University, J University, F University… in short, all the top universities in the country had contacted him early on.

Lu Jie looked at his unconcerned expression and couldn’t help but smile faintly. Lu Jie knew very well that he wasn’t boasting. Fu Jia’an was like an innocent, worldly-unaware child who, even holding golden and silver axes, would only treat them as toys.

In a child’s world, there are no price tags for fame and wealth, only whether they like something or not.

Lu Jie felt a touch of bitterness inside, but more so, envy. He understood that Fu Jia’an’s calm attitude wasn’t due to some extreme sincerity, but because the difficulties ordinary people had to overcome were not even considered challenges in Fu Jia’an’s eyes. If he wished it, every path in this world was unobstructed.

“So, do you want me to leave?” Fu Jia’an asked.

Lu Jie had spent two days pondering why Fu Jia’an asked him this question, but now, he realized that Fu Jia’an truly seemed to be placing the decision in his hands. Lu Jie was surprised, and a little hesitant.

“If I said I don’t want you to go, would you really not go?” Lu Jie said. “I can’t take that responsibility. You have to make the choice yourself.”

“Then would you feel better if I left?”

“Huh?” Lu Jie looked very surprised. “Don’t think too highly of yourself. Although seeing you annoys me, it’s not to the point where I can’t eat or sleep. Whether you stay or not won’t affect me in the slightest.”

Fu Jia’an looked at Lu Jie. “Then I’ve decided not to accept the guaranteed admission offer.”

Lu Jie’s eyes widened. “Seriously? You’ve decided just like that?”

“Of course it’s true. The guaranteed admission doesn’t really matter. I still want to spend some more time having fun in the third year of high school,” Fu Jia’an swung his leg. “Besides, I haven’t decided what major I want to study yet. I’ll play and think about it at the same time.”

…Such arrogant words, but coming from Fu Jia’an, it wasn’t surprising.

Lu Jie found that his tolerance for Fu Jia’an had unknowingly increased significantly. What was once a relationship that irritated him just by looking at the other person, now felt like a good opportunity to chat for a bit.

Perhaps he realized that Fu Jia’an didn’t harbor such great hostility toward him after all.

Lu Jie was like this: if others retreated one step, he could retreat ten. He didn’t want to make things difficult for people, wouldn’t dwell on the past, and always looked on the bright side of things.

He even started to imagine that if they had met earlier, they might have become friends with Fu Jia’an.

Of course, this was only Lu Jie’s unilateral thought. In Fu Jia’an’s heart, there was never any possibility of being just friends with Lu Jie.

The snow fell quietly. With the decision to stay, time suddenly lost its urgency. In this moment, Fu Jia’an finally understood what kind of affection he had for Lu Jie.

He wanted to lean on Lu Jie’s shoulder, hold Lu Jie’s hand, and stick closer. Like a serpent’s tail, coiling around and around, tightening the more the other tried to struggle free.

Fu Jia’an thought, Lu Jie, I gave you a chance.

From now on, even if you are innocent, I will not let go.